Improvement in fishing-seines



Improvement in Fishing Seines. 124,635.

HENRY SMITH, on SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENTv IN FISHING=SEINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,635, dated March12, 1872.

Specification of an Improved FishingSeine, invented by HENRY SMITH, ofSalem, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts.

The purse-seine, so called, now in comn mon use, is a single sheet ot'netting some iifty fatholns long by twenty fathoms wide, more or less,having buoys on one edge and weights upon the opposite edge, by which itis sunk edgewise into the water, the weights uponone edge and the iloatsor buoys upon the other tending to keep it in nearly a vertical positionin the water, it being extended to its greatest length in nearly astraight lille by means ot' lines from either end, which are operatedfor the purpose by the boats crew. Other lines, running through thebottom edge are operatf ed at the proper time to purse up the lower partof the sheet of netting into a sort'of pocket to prevent the fish fromdarting or diving below the edge ot' the seine and escaping, as is oftenthe case in mackerel rishin g.

In shing with large seines the process of parsing the seine isnecessarily a slow one, and it often happens th at a large part of andsometimes the whole school escape before it can be accomplished, inwhich case the labor has all to be done over again.' To remedy thedifficulty just mentioned is the object of my invention; and it consistsin constructing the seine in the form of a bag, having a bottom, aroundwhich are secured weights for sinking the sa-me to the proper depth, theupper edge or mouth of the bag being provided with buoys or floatsaround at least one-halt' its circumference, while the other .portionthereof is p rovided'with weights, by which it may be sunk to the properdepth--say rive fathoms, more or less-to allow the school of iish topass over it, so that when they touch the other side of the bag-seineand dart downward they cannot escape until they rise again to pass overthe sunken edge of .the bag. It also consistsin a peculiar arrangementof lines by which the two parts or sides of the bagare separated, themouth and bottom ofthe seine is expanded, and the sunken side is raisedto the sur face of the water when the school ot" fish are fairly in thetoils.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a plan showing the seine and arrangement otlines and boats for operating the same when the Seine has just beensunk. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same with the seine expanded; and Fig. 3is an elevation ot' the same, showing a portion ot' the front side sunkpreparatory to receiving a school of iish.

A is the back, and A the front side of the seine, the same being unitedat their ends to the vertical cords a a. B is the bottom united to thesides by means ot' the cord b, on which are secured at intervals theweights c c, for the purpose of sinkin g the seine. Around the top ormouth ofthe seine is run the cord 0l, on which are secured the buoys orioats c e e and the weights ff. At each end ofthe seine the lines g gare attached to the cord d, and..ex tend to the boats h h, where theslack or middle portion is coiled away, the opposite end of the samelines being secured to the front side of the seine near the weights fj',and lead to the boats h h, as shown at t' i. Another line, fi t', issecured to the cord d between the weightsff, the other end of which issecured to the line t' at a suitable point between the attachment ot'the line i to the seine and the boat with considerable slack therein. Tothe cord d. on the back side of the seine are Secured the lines j j,which lead thence to the boats h h', where they are secured and areoperated for the purpose of opening the mouth ofthe seine, as shown inFig. 2. The lines lc k, one end ot' each of which is secured to the cordb in the bottom and leads to the boats It h', are used to expand thebottom or to hold the two sides A and A apart at the bottom to givespace for the sh, as also shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of my improved seine is as follows: The seine is sunk intothe water near ly in a vertical line, and extended in nearly a straightline between the boats h 7L, as shown in Fig. l, in which position it ismaintained by the lines g g, until it is placed in the right position toreceive the school ot' fish when the lines jj and k k are hauled in bythe men in the boats It It', and the two sides of the Seine areseparated, as shown in Fig. 2. The back side is held up even with thesurface of the water by the floats or buoys c e e, lwhile a portion ofthe front side is made to sink to a suitable depth to allow the tish topass over, as shown inFig. 3. \'Vhen the tish have passed over thesunken front side the lines t' z' are drawn in by the nien in the boatsh h raising the weights f f until the lines i 'i' reach the boats, whenthe slaelr in them is drawn in raising the front side to the surface ofthe Water when the ish are securely inclosed in a. bag net from whichwhich there is no escape.

I do not claim, broadly, a seine made in the form of a bag-net, for I amaware that sueh have been used before; but

Wha-t I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is as follows:

l. A seine made in the form of a bag, and havin g the Heats e e andWeights ff secured thereto around its mouth, in such a manner that aportion of the mouth ofthe bag` may be sunk below the surface of theWater by the Weights, While the remaining` port-ion is kept even withthe surface of the water bythe iioats, substantially as described.

2. In combination with a seine made in theforrn of a bag and providedwith the buoys e e and Weights f f, the lines j 7' for opening` themouth ofthe seine, substantially as described.

3. In combination with a seine made in the form of a bag, the lines k7c, for expanding the bottom, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a seine made in the form of a bag and providedwith the weights f f and the ioats e e, the lines i t' and z" i', forthe purpose of raising the sunken side of the seine, substantially asdescribed.

Executed at Boston this 18th day of November, 1871.

HENRY SMITH. Witnesses:

N. C. LOMBARD, DVID T. PRAY.

